Busy. Busy and some more busy. That’s the fun part of trying to do a bunch of stuff: prioritizing and scheduling! I can’t tell you how many times I was like oh man I should just do a quick post and then, nope. That’s fine, we work out the kinks in time right?
I figured I could take a quick break and write to you all so you know I’m around and will remember to check back soon. 😀 Since I last wrote to you – oh a month ago (OMG!) – I have listened to two audio books and not finished any of the ones I was already reading. I’ll have to go see but I think I told you about finishing the Wicked Saints audiobook, right? If I didn’t then I actually finished 3 audibles since last time. Lol. I completed and won Camp NaNo July (Yeah!) and recorded over a dozen hours of brainstorming for my story. Never mind all the other stuff that’s happening in real life (like the hickory tree that fell in my yard or the project that is my basement, backyard, heck my whole property and others!). We’re going to stick to talking about the creative stuff here.
The goal for my post today is just to check in, to briefly share what I’ve accomplished creatively, and to let you know what you can look forward to this month which includes my creative accomplishments in more detail. So I’ve checked in. Check. I’ve told you what I’ve accomplished creatively in simplicity. Check. Now I’ll tell you what you can look forward to!
I’d like to have a discussion about audio books. I haven’t listened to an audio book since they were on CD or cassette, not available digitally. I’ve been really reticent to go the audio book route because it just doesn’t feel like reading a book to me. Nevertheless, I gave in to the audible free trial membership with a couple free titles and now I’m hooked. This means I’ll have to give up my HBO subscription in order to afford this but meh, it’s worth it. I’ve really enjoyed being able to listen to great stories while I’m working or walking the dog or driving or what have you! If I’m not in story making mode then listening is great. That said, I miss the interaction with the words on page. So I want to talk about that. Another thing I want to talk about is once you have listened to an audio book will you continue a series in audio? It makes me crazy to think of having different versions of books in a series, like one is audio, one is digital, one is physical. AHHHHHHHH! I hope you’ll stay tuned and chime in because I’d love to know what you all think about audio books and listening.
In line with the above topic I have three reviews I owe you, and they’re all for the audio books I’ve listened to in the last month: Wicked Saints by Emily A. Duncan (loved it), Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson (great story), and most recently The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater (awesome!). Of the three The Raven Boys is by FAR my favorite. That was really a great story. It was narrated by Will Patton who did an fantastic job. I can’t wait to listen to the rest of the series! Really I enjoyed all of the narrators of these books. I’m also about to start The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon in audio. This isn’t a book I’m anxious to start to be honest, but it was on sale on audible and I’ve got a lot of work around the house to do. So a cheap audio book that happens to be on my TBR? Alright, I’ll take it. Stay tuned for my thoughts on all of these.
Of course you will be privy to my writing life and how that’s going. I won Camp NaNo a couple thousand over 50k words for the month. It was a great month for writing and Camp NaNo was so helpful. Lots of great advice and nice to have a goal and a group holding me accountable. This push helped my story a lot although my overall goal was to finish my first draft I did not finish that. But okay, it’s okay. I will complete my first draft by November NaNoWriMo, at which point I will revise it. I’m still aiming for publication next year.
This last month has really been amazing in terms of my writing and I can’t wait to learn more from my characters about this story. I might say, okay I will, that I think this will be a series at this point. Let’s just leave it at there will be more than one book pertaining to my characters Maple and Jacob. I’m intimidated and overwhelmed at this prospect and with this story. It’s so exciting, it’s like my magic. Writing has become even more important to my life than it already was. I will expand more on my writing and how I feel about it as this month trucks along. Please stay tuned to hear about the joys and stresses of the writing month. Who knows, maybe you’ll be inspired to start your own project. 😉
Oh and I’ll be updating my TBR and being more honest with myself about what I really can finish in a month. Stay tuned!
